There are several ways our department communicates important information to students, staff, and faculty.
ENS
The Emergency Notification Service (ENS) is used to communicate with subscribers through text, voice and email notifications. Generally, ENS messages are intended to provide timely and actionable information during an emergency or dangerous situation involving an immediate threat to the health or safety of students or employees.
ENS messages may include confirmed reports of a crime or emergency situation and will generally contain information about the status or action recipients should take.
Under certain circumstances, an ENS message may contain information about a rapidly developing situation, which may include unconfirmed or incomplete information. However, due to the time-critical nature of the emergency, it is important to issue an ENS message to share information about the developing situation.
In an unconfirmed case, an example ENS message may look like the following:
Pitt E.N.S. Alert: Unconfirmed active shooter at (location). Police are responding. Please avoid the area. For more information visit emergency.pitt.edu.
The details may be vague as police investigate, but the location will be specified so that people stay clear of the area. Emergency.pitt.edu will be updated as soon as information is available.
Reliability testing of the ENS system occurs regularly.
To add mobile numbers to your ENS registration, visit the ENS page on the Information Technology website. Read University Procedure AO 07 Campus Crime Awareness: Crime Reporting, Crime Alerts, and Emergency Notification. The University Police Department also has access to class schedules and directory information should we ever need to contact a student for any reason. We also use the services of Student Affairs as well as personnel and staff from the University Counseling Center to assist our staff in emergency notification if necessary.
Crime Alerts
The Pitt Police department issues a crime alert when a serious, unresolved crime is committed on or adjacent to campus; the crime creates a serious or ongoing threat to the campus community; and the likelihood of repetition is such that a report is necessary to aid in the prevention of similar occurrences. Crime alerts may be physically posted in the general area where the incident occurred but will not be posted or shared for every reported crime. Subscribing to ENS alerts does not subscribe you to receive crime alerts.”Those who subscribe to the Alerts: Crime Alerts “Notify U” list will receive crime alerts, as well as updates and other news. Subscribe now by selecting “Crime Alerts” on the Opt-In Lists tab.
Social Media & Websites
Crime alerts are also posted to Pitt Police’s Facebook, Twitter and website, with the label “Crime Alert.” You also have the option to subscribe to an RSS feed. The RSS feed automatically updates when a new alert is posted and can be bookmarked to your web browser. Visit police.pitt.edu to subscribe.
Around Campus
The alert is physically posted in the general area where the incident occurred.
Here is the latest University policy.
More details about emergency notifications can be found in Policy AO 07 Campus Crime Awareness: Crime Reporting, Crime Alerts, and Emergency Notification.